How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist, 5th ed.: Selling Yourself Without Selling Your Soul

Book Description

How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist is the preeminent guide to taking control of your career and making a good living in the art world. Drawing on over three decades of experience, Caroll Michels walks artists through the complicated process of balancing grants, gallery representation, private dealer sales, and a personal studio to ensure a public profile and a steady income. Included is a wealth of insiders information on getting into a gallery, being your own PR agent, and negotiating prices, as well as innovative marketing, exhibition, and sales opportunities for various art disciplines.

Customer Reviews:

Very helpful book.......2007-07-28

The book gave me what I needed and that was an approach to marketing to the different markets out there. This included finding galleries and licensing companies and also agents. All in all it filled me in on how to approach these segmented markets. [..]

A bound collection buisness cards.......2007-05-08

This is one of those books with exciting chapter headings like 'the mysterious world of grants' that you expect will de-mystify the process- but basically it is train station schedule telling you about different trains you can board to reach a destination (this book contains no destinations)... what I mean by that is this book is basically a reading list of a million other books. The information that is in this book is very minimal, everytime you think she is about to tell you something valuable she says "to learn more read this book or visit this website". She doesn't provide the information from those books in hers. For a 300 page book, the only meat it provided in and of itself was a soapbox for the author to dog the whole gallery system and encourage artists to sell their own work. Which is lovely but I felt like I wasted time reading her big book when I should have been reading the other books that actually have the information I am looking for in them.
If I was this author and had read all of those books myself, I think I would have written a more comprehensive one-stop guide for the artist to save them some time and energy- but maybe her book was sort of a collaborative effort where she gained something from mentioning these other books as opposed to learning from them. That is really what it felt like- a bound collection of buisness cards.
If you really want to do a lot of reading- this book is certainly a reading list, but I would bypass it and go straight to some other books.

If you DO want to bypass the gallery system and make money off your art on your own, I recommend Brian Marshall White's book 'Breaking into the Art World'. You can read it in one night and use all the info, apply it, start earning some money from your artwork. He not only provides a useful biz plan for the artist, he also includes the numbers of all his sources for printing, packaging, credit card set-up... it is the only book you would need to start making and selling prints of your work.

Cutting through the Hype and Clutter.......2007-04-12

The tone of MS. Michels book is so needed in the professional art world. I have worked in highly political corporate jobs in the past, but have not seen any profession so divide and conquer itself as I have observed in the art world. Not only does this book de-mystify the business side of the Fine Arts and Crafts professions, it is a regular reminder that we artists can be our own worst enemies when we segment ourselves into movements or confuse our desire to live from the proceeds from our work with the fear that money will corrupt our artistic intent. Also thanks for the Internet update in this edition!

Internet, Web and Artist Networking Bible.......2007-03-19

This is the Guru on how to prosper or expose yourself professionally and smart in the tangled web of the Art World. After years as a Ct. Broker with extensive marketing in my background.. flowing into horse breeding (millersequine) and showing....I have given it all up to pursue my love, "Art"..... I just took a workshop with Jonathan Talbot, "The Artist's Marketing & Action Plan" and he recommended this book.....A strong believer in recommendations from others who have been there and done that...I am not one bit sorry...and cannot lay the book down...You will mark and make notes and use this book as a compendium resource guide to anything and everything worthwhile to pursue in the Art World of Marketing. Ms. Michels has researched and noted a vast array of web sites and internet help guides organized all through her book.......How lucky we are to have an Artist Agent putting between two covers her vast knowledge to help the artist who truly prefers to create and spend less time trying to pound streets marketing....Here is your shortcut to getting your work out there. Sign me a returning artist who was fortunate to take Talbot's course to discover Caroll Michels.....Carolyn's by Design

This book is a keeper!.......2007-01-19

Fan-freakin'-tastic! This author should be canonized as the patron saint of artists everywhere. I'm not sure exactly what I was spending my money on when I think back to my college tuition bills....all I know is that this book gives you so much more information on being a real life working artist than the thousands upon thousands of dollars spent on an art degree. If you are serious about sustaining yourself as a professional artist you MUST have this book as reference.

Average customer rating:
Hidden art in nature;: Synchromies
Oscar Louis Forel
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0060113170

Average customer rating:
Hidden Art In Nature: Synchromies
Oscar Forel
Manufacturer: HARPER & ROW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLN34U

Average customer rating:
Hidden Art in Nature: Synchromies
Oscar Louis Forel
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OEPQ1A

Book Description

Power Pack returns... and this time they've brought some very special friends! Marvel's merry mutants team up with our super-powered siblings for more fun-filled all-ages adventures! Collects X-Men and Power Pack #1-4.

Customer Reviews:

Not Just for the Kids.......2006-04-24

The Power Pack are four siblings, and I wince to report that "Power" is their real last name. Alex is Zero-G, who can do interesting tricks with gravity. Julie is Lightspeed -- not only can she fly very fast, but she leaves a rainbow trail behind her. Jack is Mass Master. He can change his size and take the form of a cloud. The youngest and most powerful is Katie. As Energizer, her energy blasts pack quite a punch.

They received their powers through an alien. Their parents don't know about any of this. All of the Power kids except Jack are pretty nice. Jack is rude, snarky, self-centered, and can be mean to his little sister. In short, he's the Bad Example. Good thing he's also pretty funny. If you have an annoying sibling yourself, you'll enjoy when he sets himself up for a downfall. You'll probably enjoy the sibling squabbles, too -- they get some good zings at each other.

Although the four adventures seem unrelated, a casual remark in one may become an important plot point in another. This book has plenty of action, adventure, and jokes. The kids know how to use their heads, too. The art is cartoony, but expressive (and it doesn't hurt to check the backgrounds for visual jokes or foreshadowing). The colors are bright. Because I'm a fan who wants to know if a favorite character of mine appears in one of these reprint books, the X-Men appearing are Beast, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine. The villains who show up are the Circus of Crime (Bruto, the Clown, the Great Gambonnos, the Human Cannonball, Princess Python, & the Ringmaster); , Mr. Sinister, Mystique, Prism, Riptide, Sabretooth, Scalphunter, and Vertigo.

No, these adventures aren't in continuity, but who cares? They're fun! If you have younger friends or relatives whom you wish to hook on comics/graphic novels, this book wouldn't be a bad start. Don't forget to read it yourself -- some of the jokes are meant to keep an older audience entertained.

The cover is taken from the first issue and I must admit that that little Halloween party disaster is my personal favorite.

Customer Reviews:

Jane Asher's Fancy Dress.......1999-12-30

A wonderful source for costume making, for both children and adults. Imaginative, witty and creative.

Although this book includes assembly and materials information, some prior sewing and/or crafts experience is useful. The book is written using British terminology and metric dimensions. The instructions are more conceptual than detailed.

It's a wonderful book, not just for Halloween.

Average customer rating:
JANE ASHER'S FANCY DRESS

Manufacturer: Salem House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H284ZY

Average customer rating:
Jane Asher's Fancy Dress
Jane Asher
Manufacturer: Salem House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PRMOMA

Average customer rating:
Jane Asher's Fancy Dress: Over 100 Costumres for Children & Adults
Jane Asher
Manufacturer: Salem House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S088IS

Book Description

A pilot for the China-based airline reputed to be the most shot at in the world, Felix Smith recounts in vivid detail his experiences ferrying troops and equipment for the Nationalists during China's civil war; providing medicine and supplies to war-torn regions; and flying under CIA contract during the French war in Indochina, the Korean War, America's secret war in Laos, and the Vietnam War. China Pilot provides a rare view of the Cold War in Asia, documenting not only the hair-raising adventures of Civil Air Transport's pilots but also those of the men and women behind the scenes.

Customer Reviews:

A Compelling Read.......2003-05-18

Felix Smith is a gifted writer, who is able to describe a scene or an incident with carefully selected, compact, beautiful prose. There are plenty of flying stories for the aviation enthusiast in this book, but the writing is never too technical to confuse the uninitiated. His story of China in turmoil, and a shoestring airline staffed with unusual characters, is compelling indeed, and is thoroughly recommended.

My one criticism is the lack of historical thread of the airline after its ejection from China. The book breaks down to a series of interesting anecdotes, but the background on how CAT evolved, how it acquired jets, how Smith himself transitioned to sophisticated jet transports, is missing. I found many of the later anecdotes, though well written and compelling, oddly out of context, and wondered how they fitted into the big picture. This wasn't helped by Smith's technique of sometimes mentioning a character, and only introducing him in later pages, which has you thumbing back through the book seeing if perhaps you'd missed a passage.

But these are small criticisms indeed, and the book is a very enjoyable read of a turbulent and, frankly, romantic era of aviation.

China Pilot.......2003-05-17

Having spent an appreciable amount of time in Asia myself, and being an admirer of the exploits of the famed Flying Tigers (AVG), I ordered four books at one time. I saved this book for last, since Mr. Smith was not an original member of the Flying Tigers. After reading, and enjoying the others, I began Mr. Smith's CHINA PILOT. I don't know what I thought I would get out of this book, but I loved it! Felix Smith was obviously one of the very best pilots working in an Asia in turmoil at that time. His narration of the many adventures he was involved in draw the reader right into the cockpit with him. I could SEE Earthquake Magoon! I could SMELL the warm night air through the open cockpit window while flying over some jungle in Vietnam or Laos. I wholeheartedly recommend this fine book to those interested in the Far East and the many roles the AVG-CAT-Air America played during those decades of turbulence. Mr. Smith, if you happen to read this: excellent job! Both on the book, and particularly your interesting life.

Mike McCaffrey
Department of State/Foreign Service - Retired

An important addition to the history of the Cold War.......2003-02-02

Perhaps you'd have to be intersted in flying to fully appreciate this book--There is lots and lots of intersting stuff about flying under adversse conditions. However, I was attracted to this book primarily because of my interst in the history of modern China, and the transition from rule by the Guomindang to the Communist Party.

As history, it is absolutely fascinating and very helpful. The story concerns CAT (Civil Air Transport), a small (at that time) airline started as a civilian business enterprise after World War II by General Claire Chennault, former commander of the Flying Tigers. The company was put together in Mainland China while Chiang Kai-Shek was still in charge. The airline manages to survive the Communist revolution by moving to Taiwan. The author flew for the airline throughout this period, and gives rich insight into the transition.

The book also gives a new insight into the problems of the French in Indochina, and some of the feelings of resentment toward a European country which was clearly intersted in preserving colonialism (with very large amounts of American money) rather than promoting freedom. One of the main characters of the story was killed flying supplies to the French at Dien Bien Phu after CAT became a front for the CIA in the early fifites.

This book would appeal most directly to flying buffs, and to those (like myself) who are intersted in finding alternative sources for the history of this very important period. The book is very readable, and contains a number of pictures, as well as many, many intersting anecdotes, and key historical information that cannot be obtained from other sources.

What a beautiful book!.......2001-07-15

This book is about aviation during the pioneer days in Asia - before the days of navigational beacons and proper runway lighting. More importantly, and misleadingly from the title, it is probably one of the best "on the ground" histories of Air America's operations written from a pilot's point of view. It is written with heart, soul and compassion by a man who cared (and obviously still does) for his companions, both living and deceased, as well as the people in the places where he flew.

The stories, in civil aviation terms, are amazing and while some of them are terribly sad they keep alive the memory of many good men who would otherwise be forgotten. Aside from the narrative, this is a tremendously well written book, and one that if you love aviation and are interested in and care about Asia, you will not want to put down. If the Author, (Felix Smith) writes another book, I sincerely hope that he finds a ready publisher and many readers, as in this day and age this genre of literature and narrative quality of real life experience is truly rare.

a must-have for Flying Tigers fans.......2000-09-10

Claire Chennault's legend just keeps on growing. Here is a feast for readers who can't get enough of the man who led the Flying Tigers, the 14th Air Force, and the cargo line that became Air America.

Felix Smith isn't a historian. He's a pilot--a good one, since he survived 23 years with Civil Air Transport, organized to carry relief supplies around postwar China, only to become a paramilitary arm of Chiang Kai-shek's campaign against communism.

To our great good fortune, Smith also turns out to be a gifted reporter. Better than anyone else, he evokes the sights, smells, and sounds of China in 1945, along with an economy so weak that U.S. dollars were precious enough to be washed and ironed after use, and a government so depraved that it's a wonder it lasted until 1949.

China Pilot is a a wonderful book. It belongs on the shelf of every admirer of Chennault and his unorthodox air forces.

Average customer rating:
China Pilot, Flying for Chiang and Chennault
Felix Smith
Manufacturer: Brassey's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OLVJKK

Customer Reviews:

This is what birding is all about.......2004-07-27

I first read this book a couple of years ago. I just reread it, confirming my earlier impression: this book accurately and beautifully conveys what birding means to me. Each chapter is organized around a particular, memorable bird in the author's experience. Although he admits he's not a particularly skilled birder, he is certainly an accomplished writer. His descriptions of the surprise of birding--finding a Carolina Wren on a snowy day at Montauk when he thought he'd be looking for seabirds, or hearing the witchity-witchity of the first Common Yellothroat of spring--resonated perfectly with my own experience. A gem of a book!

The most thoughtful book about birding and birders ever writ.......2003-09-09

This is a wonderful, thoughtful book about the meaning of birding: how it changes us and our relationships with others. Levine is a sophisticated thinker and a clear writer, and discovers facets to our hobby that most of us never dreamed existed. Buy it, read it.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books